Just in time for Thanksgiving, another holiday-themed story from Parent Today about the positive effects of traditions — like, say, tossing around a football on the front lawn before it's turkey time. Here’s an excerpt:

"In a 2007 report published in 'Infants and Young Children: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Early Childhood Intervention,' researchers concluded: 'Naturally occurring family routines and meaningful rituals provide both a predictable structure that guides behavior and an emotional climate that supports early development.'

In fact, researchers have studied the role of meaningful rituals and traditions in family life since the 1950s. They have looked not only at holiday-related activities but any routine or set of behaviors that define a family/group — as in 'this is who we are.' These can include activities such as bedtime stories, family dinners, family movie night, reunions and birthdays, among others.

In decades of research, psychologists connect these family habits with higher academic success, happiness, and emotional well-being for the whole family. They have seen that meaningful rituals provide children with a sense of order, which in turn leads to children feeling more safe and secure. That security enables children to focus on the tasks at hand, such as learning. The bottom line is, when children know what to expect and have a sense of 'this is how my family rolls,' they can make sense of the world and relax in the understanding that things are predictable."

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